Nowadays, many dual-employed parents are facing the problem of picking up and dropping off their children from school. For little kids, it is not practical to go to and from school on their own and kindergartens and primary schools finish school at 3 or 4 pm while parents are still working. Being full-time parents does solve this problem, but it can cause a great economic pressure on the family as well. For this reason, many Chinese parents rarely have a second child.

To make matters even tougher on moms, while employers will never outright admit it, many still prefer to hire men or women who have already had children since here, it’s common to find most of the household chores, children’s education, caring for the elderly being handled by the women in the families. To many employers, female employees are often in the situation of asking for leave or being absent for business trips.

Song Zhiping, a member of the national committee of CPPCC,  said in an interview with China Women’s News during the lastest Two Sessions that, suggested kindergartens and primary schools extend the school hour to around 6pm to facilitate dual-employed parents to pick up their children. It also reduces the expenses of after-school care classes and slows down the decline of fertility rate caused by economic pressure. “…The government should consider introducing more policies to solve the difficulty of female employment. Otherwise, the pressure put on enterprises will eventually lead to the reduction of female employment opportunities.”, said Song.

Song Zhiping, member of the national committee of CPPCC

Whether extending the school hour policy can be implemented depends on whether it is more of a pressure for schools or more of a help for parents. On the one hand, it can reduce the burden of parents. On the other hand, the extra hours increased workload for teachers, so it is mutually beneficial to suggest schools use these hours to develop activities according to the children’s interests.

In addition, she also put forward the extension of maternity leave, reduction of second-child kindergarten fees, and other maternity welfare proposals, which caused a strong reaction in the society.

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Images:  Pexels, 58pics, Baidu Image

You’re getting rounder by the day as you near your due date and your mind has naturally started to turn to the practicalities of the delivery itself, including what you bring to the hospital. This isn’t like packing for a regular holiday or staycation, and leaving it until the last minute definitely isn’t the way to go.

Most hospitals will give you a list of recommended items to pack in your hospital or ‘go bag’, and a quick Google search will help fill in the blanks for the rest. But we found that after a few searches, the length of the packing lists varied pretty drastically and really depend on where you are going to be giving birth. One mom who delivered her baby in a small town in rural China, for example, recommended packing things that you would generally never expect to provide, ranging from snacks and drinks to kitchen towels and plastic buckets to wash your face in afterward. Depending on where you’re choosing to deliver your baby, the amenities provided by the hospitals will vary and so will the regulations.

Local Chinese hospitals recommend you pack the following:
Bed pads (like the kind pets use for potty training)
Adult diapers
Cotton tissues
Disposable underwear
Red Bull and chocolate (yes, really!)
Straws and cups
Baby diapers
Baby clothes
Slippers
Comfortable cotton clothing
A hat for mom when you leave the hospital

Oasis International Hospital they recommend moms bring clothes for mom, blankets, a hat for leaving the hospital, but you do not need to pack baby clothes unless you want your child to wear what you’ve selected. Otherwise your brand new baby can go home in the stylish new attire prepared for by the hospital. They also recommend that Chinese national moms bring health records, passports of ID cards of both parents which will be used for processing the birth certificate, and finally books and music to help you feel at ease.

International hospitals like Oasis will prepare things like sanitary towels, toiletries, disposable underwear, diapers, absorbent bed pads, bum cream, disposable breast pump attachments, along with little extras for you to always remember the special day by like gift basket with brand new baby clothes and newborn photos. In short, hospitals like Oasis, Beijing United Family Hospital, and AmCare have maternity rooms that are designed like hotels, with all your essentials ready, and meals will be prepared based on your dietary restrictions.

You won’t be leaving the hospital immediately after delivery which means that aside from stylish fashion apparel, there are a few necessities that’ll help you ease into your first few days of motherhood like nipple creams and breast pumps if you’ve already purchased one. For germaphobes like myself, I always travel with my own set of towels and a nifty travel linen set that is essentially like a big sleeping bag that easily covers the pillow, mattress, and comforter of any bed. On Taobao they start from around RMB 35 and can be found by searching 旅行床单 (lǚxíng chuángdān).

PJs? No PJ? Sleep in whatever you like.

If you own a car, you’ll also need to figure out how to use your car seat before you need to head to the hospital. But if you’re planning on taking a Didi home, there are strollers like the Doona Car Seat & Stroller that collapses into an infant car seat and comes highly recommend by Beijing parents who don’t drive.

The Doona car seat stroller in action

And What About Your Partner?

While they’re not the star of the show, your partner has still got a big part to play. Make sure that your partner also has a hospital go-bag ready so that they’re not dropping you off in the hospital and running home to pack their own stuff. Nobody needs that extra stress.

If you’re delivering in a local hospital, be sure to have cash on hand. Unlike international hospitals, some local hospitals will only accept cash before performing any sort of procedure. And when we say cash, we mean physical bills that come out of the ATM. Remember those? Don’t assume that WeChat and Alipay will always be accepted in hospitals.

Partners should pack their favorite pillows and preferred toiletries as well (but leave the cologne at home). After all, they’re also not going anywhere for a while, so they might as well be as comfortable as possible. Just don’t overpack on the clothes. Pack stuff that’s functional instead of purely stylish.

You and your partner can also pack some of your favorite snacks, especially if they’re the kind that’s hard to find in local supermarkets. Just don’t go overboard with the snacks, as you’re only going to be there for a few days and delivery apps like elema and Meituan can be quick convenient ways to get your favorites delivered right to the hospital front door so there’s no need to pack a whole case of Red Bull no matter how tempting it may be. For entertainment, my husband and I love movies so you can be sure we’re packing our portable projector in his hospital go-bag so that we can watch our favorite movies instead of the local Chinese channels. Basically it comes down to “what can I stick in a carry-on size suitcase that’ll make both of us feel right at home?”

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Source: www.chinaslostpanda.com
Photos: raspberryglow.com, shopdoona.com